You Don't Have To Spend Christmas Alone
by theabridgedkuriboh
Summary: It's almost Christmas and Tasuku has been working later and later hours. Takihara is worried that he'll overwork himself and tries to convince Tasuku just that in the best way he can.


It's Christmas Eve so I am just struggling to get all of my Christmas fics out there. I started so many. Still have some planned that I need to write and post. The struggle. But seriously, I hope you guys enjoy this one shot. Its short but its also sweet. (sorry if the ending is kinda...meh. I suck at endings). Merry Christmas Eve everyone. And Merry Christmas if you live somewhere in the world where its already Christmas.

* * *

><p>It was cold and blustering. Snowflakes fell softly to the ground, spun like they were dancing.<p>

It was late in the night, about eleven o clock. Tasuku was still at the buddy police headquarters. He had a lot of paperwork to do. Being a cop was hard. Being a buddy cop was just as hard. Putting your life on the line to fight evil. To keep the innocent fighters smiling. And to allow them to play the game freely. It was all the work of a buddy cop.

Tasuku enjoyed his job. He wanted this! His dream was to be able to help people. To be an adult and protect everyone.

And he is.

But even heroes had paperwork!

He let out a yawn, placed a hand over his mouth and then rubbed his eyes. It's been a long day! But he still had so much work to do. He couldn't quit now.

He could take it home and complete it there, but the time to get from here to there would be time wasted.

With a shake of his aching wrist, he could hear and feel it cracking, Tasuku placed his pencil to the paper and continued his work.

* * *

><p>Down in the lobby, Mr. Takihara was gathering his things to head out and patrol the area one last time before heading home. He usually works later than this, but since it's close to the holidays, the commander allows him to head home earlier than usual.<p>

Mr. Takihara appreciates the offer and uses that time to catch up on some work, or even some sleep. Buddy cops are sometimes called in at early morning hours because of emergencies. Calls like those are rare but do happen.

Leaving the building, Takihara looked up at the building and looked around at windows. It was dark, except for light in the lobby.

And Tasuku's office.

Takihara felt bad for the blue haired middle schooler. Being the youngest on the squad, he has a lot more responsibility, such as school, work, and fame. Tasuku has said that he doesn't mind all the work that he puts into his life, but Takihara knew that at some point, it would start to build up, and start to take its toll on Tasuku.

"Buddy Skill On."

Once his buddy skill was active and he was off the ground, Takihara took one last glance back before heading off to complete his rounds.

* * *

><p>Tasuku yawned for the umpteenth time that night. His eyelids began to droop, but he fought against it.<p>

He took all of his completed work and began to sort it until it was neat and organized. Once through, he placed everything off to the side. He grabbed the last bundle of paperwork and began to look them over. Once he was done with this stack, he would be finished. He could go home and get some rest. His next shift starts after school tomorrow, however, he is considered to be on active duty even during school hours. He has time to rest, but not as much as he'd like to have.

Tasuku was a great student. He does well in all of his classes. Some better than others. He never let his job as a buddy cop stand in the way of his school work and his studies.

"I'm going to have to do my homework in the morning." Tasuku mumbled to himself.

He forgot he had homework. It was a small assignment, nothing to big. He also has math homework. But that was all. Nothing too extreme.

He was offered special treatment when he first started as a buddy cop. Even more when he became famous. They offered him a handicap.

_"If you ever need any extra time to hand in an assignment, just let us know. You'll get full credit. No points off for lateness." _

But Tasuku declined. He didn't want to be able to slack off. His peers all had to do the work and turn it in by the due date. So he wanted the same.

It was the same with paperwork. It's all due when the commander wants it. Everything has to be processed accordingly.

Tasuku rubbed his eyes. He was so tired. His eyes were strained, he couldn't focus. He also has a headache.

He placed his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. As he did, the door to his office was opened. Tasuku took no notice as be too preoccupied with his work.

But when a steaming hot cup was placed down beside him, his attention was brought back. He could smell the aroma in the air. Tasuku raised his head and looked over at the hot cup to his right. It was a white styrofoam cup and was closed with a black plastic lid. Typical coffee shop to go cup. He picked it up and smell its aroma once again. It smell like chocolate.

Hot chocolate!

"How did you know?" Tasuku asked. "How did you know that I liked hot chocolate?"

"Because," Mr. Takihara stood to Tasuku's right, a coffee cup in his hand. "Everyone likes cocoa!"

Tasuku smiled and took a sip of his cocoa. It wasn't too hot that it burns your tongue. It was warm. It felt good. Tasted great too!

"Thank you. It means a lot to me that you cared enough to do this." Tasuku said.

"You're working hard! You deserve it!" Takihara mumbled before taking another sip of coffee. "You should be heading home. It's late! Almost midnight!"

Tasuku sighed. "I need to get this done. Commander wants it all turned in by the time I come in tomorrow."

Takihara understood the pressures of a deadline. "You need rest! You can get the rest done after you've gotten some sleep."

Tasuku was silent for a moment as he thought it over. He wanted to get everything done now, but he was also really tired and didn't want to do a poor job.

Tasuku sighed. He let a smile grace his lips before replying, "You're right." He stood up from his desk and grabbed the complete stack of files and placed them in and the out bin. He took a deep breath and then leaned back in his chair. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. Takihara grabbed the chair that was in front of his desk and dragged it around so that he could sit beside Tasuku.

"You're working a lot longer lately." Takihara said, voicing his observations. Tasuku said nothing. Takihara assumed that he was listening and continued. "I know you love helping people. It's what you love to do. But, you're still a kid!" Takihara looked over at the bluenette who had his eyes closed as he looked up at the ceiling. "Tasuku. You have school. You have friends. AND you work. That's a lot to balance."

Tasuku looked over At Takihara. "I manage it well." He mumbled.

"You may be. For now." But soon you'll grow tired. Work will pick up. School will ask more of you. Your friends will leave you behind because you don't have time for them. It will all come crashing down." Takihara said.

But Tasuku didn't listen. He took another sip of his hot chocolate. "Working for the buddy police is what I love to do. I'm helping people. Buddyfight isn't just a game to me, or the people playing it. It's a lifestyle."

Takihara sighed. He never would have guessed that Tasuku was this hard headed.

"Why did you decide to take up more hours? It's the holidays!" Takihara asked.

Tasuku put his cocoa down and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't have anyone to celebrate with. It's an empty home. Only Jack and there with me." Tasuku replied.

Takihara could hear the pain in Tasuku's voice as he said that. "What about your friends?"

"You mean Gao?" Tasuku replied. "He has his own family to celebrate with."

"Well, I'm sure they would love to have you, Tasuku?" Takihara insisted.

"I would only be intruding." Tasuku said.

"You are a fine, young man, Tasuku. Your friends care about you. We want you to be happy. Christmas is that time of year when your friends and family want to see you most. It never hurts to ask." Takihara said. "It's not healthy to throw yourself into more work that you can handle."

As Mr. Takihara finished explaining to Tasuku how he felt, something heavy rest itself on his shoulder. He looked over and saw that Tasuku had fallen asleep, his shoulder now a pillow for the blue haired buddy cop. He couldn't help but smile.

"Let's get you home."

* * *

><p>It was morning when Tasuku woke up from his sleep. He could hear the birds singing and the sun peeking in through the blinds. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and then looked around the room.<p>

"What happened?" Tasuku asked himself. He saw that he was in his room. "How did I get home?"

Tasuku had no memory of leaving headquarters. So he was completely confused as to how he got home. The last thing he remembered was talking with Mr. Takihara. After that, it was a blur.

He looked down at his side table and looked at the time. It was only seven in the morning. As he looked at the clock, he saw a sticky note on the side of it. He reached over and took it off the clock and began to read it over.

_Tasuku, _

_Seriously, if you don't have anyone to spend the holidays with, you can spend the day with me and Stella. We would love to hang out with you. But ask your friends first. Spend time with your peers, your friends. If you can't, you know where to find me. _

_~Takihara. _

Tasuku placed the note down onto the table and got out of bed. He still needed to shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast before he could finish his homework. When he was out of the shower and dressed, he grabbed his phone and walked down to the kitchen and made breakfast. As he made a simple breakfast- scrambled eggs and toast- his phone made a buzz and vibrated against the table.

Tasuku stepped away from the stove for a moment and grabbed his phone. He unlocked his phone and saw that he got a text message from Gao. He opened the message and it read:

_Gao: Hey Tasuku, r u busy this weekend? _

Tasuku replied back and said: _No. Why?_

Tasuku put his phone down and went back to finishing his eggs. After they had finished and on a plate, Tasuku put his bread in the toaster,

His phone buzzed again.

Tasuku placed the eggs onto table and picked up his phone again.

_Gao: U should come to our Christmas party. It's gonna be sweet! Everyone's invited! _

Tasuku hit reply and said: _Aren't you going to spend time with your family? _

The toast popped up and Tasuku took it out of the toaster and buttered it. He then sat back down and the phone buzzed again.

_Gao: Christmas is during the week man. Besides, all we're going to do during Christmas is visit Yota and open gifts. So, are you comin' or what? _

Tasuku smiled. _Sure. I'll be there. _

_Gao: Can't wait to see u there. _

_Tasuku: Yeah. I'll see you there. _

Mr. Takihara was right. His friends did want him around for Christmas.

"Thank you Gao."


End file.
